Today, revised Oil and Gas Conservation Rules, Oil Sands Conservation Rules, Pipeline Rules, Coal Conservation Rules, Geothermal Resource Development Rules, Brine-Hosted Mineral Resource Development Rules, and Rock-Hosted Mineral Resource Development Rules will come into force.
These revised rules enable the new editions of Directive 071: Emergency Preparedness and Response and Manual 026: Emergency Preparedness and Response Guide, along with three new forms. These new editions, released on December 1, 2025, and announced in Bulletin 2025-39, come into effect on February 2, 2026.
The rules were changed to align with the revised directive, which now applies to all AER-regulated operations. Each amended rule now includes provisions for the following:
- developing, implementing, and maintaining an emergency management program
- developing, implementing, and maintaining emergency response plans, including provisions for emergency response training and exercises
- developing, implementing, and maintaining spill response plans, including measures related to water bodies
- maintaining records, forms, and notifications
- managing incidents, reporting emergencies, and activating emergency response plans
Other AER instruments and web content referencing Directive 071 will be updated as necessary.
The new edition of the directive is available on the Directive 071 landing page and Manual 026 on the manuals page. The forms are available on the directive forms webpage.
If you have any questions, contact our Customer Contact Centre by phone at 1-855-297-8311 or by email at inquiries@aer.ca.
